STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO — Igor Finkelshtein, 45, of Getzville, who was convicted of making and subscribing a false tax return, was sentenced to two years’ probation and fined $20,000 by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Sherman, who handled the sentencing, stated that the defendant operated Buffalo Transportation, Inc. (BTI) as both a medical transportation company and a taxi service. Income derived from providing medical transportation services, which was generally received in the form of checks, was deposited to the BTI corporate bank account. However, cash income derived from the taxi service was not deposited into the same account. A substantial amount of cash was instead diverted to personal bank accounts held by Finkelshtein various family members and associates.
The defendant provided his tax preparer with BTI’s corporate bank records but did not provide records for the cash deposits made to various personal bank accounts. This resulted in inaccurate gross receipts being reported on the corporate income tax returns for fiscal years ending October 31, 2007, through October 31, 2010.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett, New York Field Office.
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